Forth Worth Star-Telegram, Neil Strassman
Published April 12, 2001
Dietary exposure to mercury in fish is a greater threat to developing fetuses and young children than previously believed, according to a study released Thursday by national environmental groups.
Federal advisories that call for pregnant women, nursing mothers and children to limit fish consumption do not go far enough to protect the public from mercury contamination, which can cause blindness, cerebral palsy and neurological and developmental problems, said the report by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group and the Environmental Working Group.
"The advisories fail to protect the health of growing babies and children," said Jeremiah Bauman. PIRG environmental health advocate and report co-author.
About a half-dozen Texas lakes and rivers, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and various bays along the Texas coast have state warnings against eating fish because of mercury contamination.
Fish in at least two North Texas lakes - Joe Pool Lake and Lake Fork - have tested close to the state's concern level for mercury contamination, 0.7 part per million.
Federal fish consumption advisories issued in January put four species of fish - swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish - off limits to pregnant and nursing women and children but allows them to eat up to 12 ounces of other species of fish a week.
"We based our advisories on the best scientific studies that we have right now," said Ruth Welch, Food and Drug Administration spokeswoman.
Methyl mercury, the organic form of mercury that accumulates in animals, does collect in larger predatory fish, she said.
"We are monitoring some fish that we don't have complete data on. We don't have all the answers," Welch said.
About 10 percent of American women enter pregnancy with levels of mercury in their blood that may put their fetuses at risk for neurological problems, according to recent data from the federal Centers for Disease Control, the study said.
And, one in four fetuses - roughly 1 million annually - could be exposed to a potentially harmful dose of mercury for at least one month during pregnancy if their mothers eat fish following the FDA guidelines, Bauman said.
The mercury levels are based upon protecting a 150-pound man, but a developing fetus and young children are susceptible to much lower levels of contamination, Bauman said. More fish need to be tested and the list of fish species that pose a danger needs to be expanded to include canned tuna, mahi-mahi, cod, Great Lakes salmon, some species of mussels and oysters, and wild channel catfish, Bauman said.
Other fish, such as farm-raised trout and catfish and wild Pacific salmon, are safer to eat, he said.
Nationally, public health officials have issued mercury warnings in 39 states involving more than 50,000 bodies of water, including six lakes or creeks in Texas, as well as the Gulf of Mexico and various bays along the Texas coast. The Texas sites are Upper Lavaca Bay, B.A. Steinhagen Lake, Sam Rayburn Reservoir, Big Cypress Creek, Toledo Bend Reservoir, Caddo Lake, Lake Pruitt and Lake Kimball.
Coal-burning power plants are the largest source of mercury emissions. The Bush administration asked a federal appeals court this week to uphold a Clinton-era plan to regulate mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants. One Texas power plant, the TXU Electric & Gas Monticello plant near Mount Pleasant, ranks third in mercury emissions nationally among 1,200 power plants.
Neil Strassman, (817) 390-7657
strass@star-telegram.com
